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History · East Moriches

East Moriches’ post office opened in 1849, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and old-book passages.

1849first post office
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
9old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From East Moriches’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How East Moriches began

When was East Moriches founded?

1849

The East Moriches post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 5,946177 years
Founding year: the first East Moriches post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about East Moriches’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

On the map since 19043 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1967. Watch East Moriches change.Deep rootsA post office since 1849: 177 years of East Moriches.
★ What stands out · On the map

East Moriches on the map, 1904 to 1967

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of East Moriches. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

East Moriches on the 1904 USGS mapEast Moriches on the 1957 USGS mapEast Moriches on the 1967 USGS map1904Moriches sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of East Moriches.

Timeline

East Moriches, 1873 to 1975

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873In the archivePart of Brookhaven, Sufffolk Co. L.I
  3. 1888In the archiveEast Moriches. (Village)
  4. 20th century
  5. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1915In the archiveBohemia;
  7. 1975Born hereChristopher E. Gerty is born here
The story so far

East Moriches, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of East Moriches yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

East Moriches ( moh-RITCH-iz) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York, United States near the south coast of Long Island. As of the 2020 census, East Moriches had a population of 5,946. The name Moriches comes from Meritces, a Native American who owned land on The Moriches Neck.

Its first post office opened in 1849. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 5,249 to 5,946 (+13%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about East Moriches in 1882

Passages that mention East Moriches, cut from the printed page as they were published.

other two, purchased of the Indian John Mahew the neck called Watshauge February 12th 1679. This neck at present contains the eastern section of the village of East Moriches, locally known as "the Neck." The name is frequently called Watchogue. The neck is bounded on the east by a small brook calle…
...History of Suffolk county, New York1882 · page 28Read the page →
Read the text

other two, purchased of the Indian John Mahew the neck called Watshauge February 12th 1679. This neck at present contains the eastern section of the village of East Moriches, locally known as "the Neck." The name is frequently called Watchogue. The neck is bounded on the east by a small brook called Mattuck, running down between the residences of Jehial S. Raynor and J. C. Havens, and on the west by a creek called

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

East Moriches, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1910s5 items
Part of Brookhaven, Sufffolk Co. L.I1873Part of Brookhaven, Sufffolk Co. L.IMapEast Moriches. (Village)c. 1888East Moriches. (Village)South Part of Brookhaven. (Township)c. 1888South Part of Brookhaven. (Township)Bohemia;1915Bohemia;Part of Town of Brookhaven1915Part of Town of Brookhaven
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Date unknown4 to date
1930 wholesale price list / [the Dahlia Farm]Date?1930 wholesale price list / [the Dahlia Farm]Book1932 wholesale price list / the Dahlia Farm ; W.L.W. DarnellDate?1932 wholesale price list / the Dahlia Farm ; W.L.W. …BookDahlia Farm "on the Sunrise Trail " : [1931 price list] / the Dahlia Farm ; W.L.W. DarnellDate?Dahlia Farm "on the Sunrise Trail " : [1931 price lis…BookDahlia Farm 1936 wholesale price list / the Dahlia Farm ; W.L.W. DarnellDate?Dahlia Farm 1936 wholesale price list / the Dahlia Fa…Book
Today9 recent
Tate's Bake Shop2025Tate's Bake ShopEast-Moriches-welcome2020East-Moriches-welcomeSoldiers and Sailors Memorial Park;2019Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Park;Chapman's Garage2017Chapman's GarageOld Sinclair Gas Station on Montauk Hwy;2014Old Sinclair Gas Station on Montauk Hwy;Former East Moriches LIRR station2014Former East Moriches LIRR stationDowntown East Moriches; WB Montauk Hwy @ Pine Street2014Downtown East Moriches; WB Montauk Hwy @ Pine StreetMaster Chief of the Coast Guard addresses crew of Sector Field Office Moriches 130723-G-AE983-9672013Master Chief of the Coast Guard addresses crew of Sec…East-moriches-map2007East-moriches-mapMap
Every building

East Moriches, building by building, 1915

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

East Moriches fire insurance map, 1915, sheet 11915Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

East Moriches. (Village)
Retake this viewEast Moriches. (Village), c. 1888

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on East Moriches’ page.

Retake this view · +15
Help out

Finish East Moriches’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo4 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewEast Moriches. (Village): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Center Moriches3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEastportIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townManorvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBrookhaven52 historic placesA−Southampton37 historic placesA

Questions about East Moriches’ history

What year was East Moriches founded?

The East Moriches post office opened in 1849, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (18), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.